


a strange sadness as dusk falls

by sinteresting_facts



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Druidism, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I make up things w my HCs to fill in the necessary gaps, Technically?, as with all my work I pull as much from canon as I can and then, gratuitous fantasy linguistics and magic science talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 09:52:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17681192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinteresting_facts/pseuds/sinteresting_facts
Summary: 5 years ago Schae climbed Mount Hyjal to graduate from his first phase of Druidic instruction.A conversation on the roof of the lodge beneath Nordrassil.





	a strange sadness as dusk falls

**Author's Note:**

> Posted this with barely any editing on mobile cause my computers dead. I’ll come back to this and edit at some point! Ty for reading!

“Meet me on the roof?”   
  
Schaelarche had nodded, and then rolled back over in his bunk. His everything ached and he was exhausted. He would be riggghht there.   
  
He fell asleep, and woke up about 20 minutes later, now more groggy and sore than before. He groaned and swung his legs off the bed, taking the whole blanket with him. He sighed in defeat. With a mild wobble he stood and righted the covers before padding outside, combing his fingers through his freshly washed and dried hair.    
  
He walked out to the balcony overlooking the shimmering pond beneath Nordrassil’s roots, and breathed in the thin air. It felt good. He exhaled and turned to the outside wall before scaling the side.   
  
He clambered over top the tiled roof and was greeted by a hearty chuckle. A friendly “ishnu-alah” was mixed in between giggles.    
  
“Did you fall asleep again?”   
  
“No.”   
  
“Larcheyyyy”   
  
“Yes.”   
  
Aatto’s laugh filled the air once more as Schaelarche shuffled across the roof over to his side. He rolled his eyes at his friend’s reaction.    
  
“You weren’t the one who had to climb up the largest damned mountain on Azeroth.”   
  
“I had to at one point. And I had to deal with my father at the top. You just have to deal with my charming self—hey!”   
He was interrupted by Schae shoving him with his shoulder, but this time when the laughter rang out it came from the both of them.    
  
“More like insufferable self,” Schae challenged, quirking an eyebrow.   
  
“Whatever you say, dog breath.”    
  
An amused smirk was met with a tired huff, and Schae laid back on the tiled rooftop. The tiles were wooden, or at least it felt like it. Wood but harder...petrified maybe. Not exactly comfortable per se, but it was to be expected. It was a roof.    
  
Schaelarche breathed in and out for awhile, silence settling comfortably around the two as Aatto turned back to look over the glade. Silence save for the creaking of the world tree above them and the whistling wind that seemed ever-present this far up. The silence was far more comfortable than the roof.    
  
A gust of wind blew through the wide gaps in Nordrassil’s roots and Schae inhaled, glancing up at Aatto.    
  
He exhaled.    
  
“Say...Aatto?”   
  
“Mm.” Aatto continued looking ahead, but the little twitch of his right ear let Schae know he was listening.    
  
“Do you think I can actually, y’know.” Schae nibbled on his lip for a second. “Do this?”   
  
“To what ‘this’ are you referring?”   
  
“Being a Druid,” Schae stuck an arm straight up and waggled his hand around as he continued, “Saving lives...being, noble. It’s never really been my thing.”   
  
“Larchey is this anxiety or a genuine concern?”   
  
“Both? Perhaps?”   
  
Aatto nodded and looked to him.    
  
“You’ve been in training for 3 years now. I think if the daisies were going to drop dead at your mere presence we would have noticed by now.”    
  
“Yeah, Yeah, but, I’m supposed to have some.....connection to nature, some,” he wiggled his fingers, “Bond or whatever....something magical.”   
  
“Schaelarche you know magic. I’ve seen you do your spell work.”   
  
“No,—I mean-“ he sighed,”-there’s supposed to be something more, some deep calling....something telling me that Elune will guide me no matter what...I don’t, I don’t feel that. There’s supposed to be something. Right.....?”   
  
Aatto shrugged above him. “Not necessarily, tell me again why you decided to pursue Druidism?”   
  
“My mom, she taught me when I was younger. Before I was...changed.”   
  
“And why did you go back? You could’ve decided you were done with this life.”   
  
“......it....it felt right.” He mumbled.   
  
Aatto made a very teacherly sound that translated to ‘come on, think.’   
  
“It...I felt, better, knowing that somewhere there was proof that things aren’t all bad. The trees don’t have an agenda. They just want to live and grow leaves.”    
  
“Then there it is.”   
  
“I sound stupid.”   
  
“You don’t, Larchey. There doesn’t need to be some divine reason for you to be drawn to nature. It’s a part of you. In many ways,” he said it so pointedly that Schae scowled just on reflex, “and in all those ways, you are bound to nature. It feeds you, you will one day feed it....et cetera.”   
  
Aatto sighed fondly, “You know you might want to make it less obvious that you didn’t focus in your lessons, we did go over the natural order and cycles. Quite a few times.”   
  
“I made it here didn’t I?”   
  
“Ah see there it is,—positivity! Now stop picking and choosing when to apply that logic and you’ll be set.”   
  
Schae grinned against his better judgement and muttered, “You’re an ass. An absolute ass.”   
  
“Clever deduction Brann. When’d you figure that one out?” The broad grin on Aatto’s face belied any irritation and Schae weakly punched Aatto’s arm in retribution.    
  
“Stop proving my point, dick.”   
  
“Oh you poor mortals....so crass...” Aatto took on his lofty elven accent and framed his face with his hands dramatically. “A disgrace to our dazzling sylvan wildla—“ Schae shouldn’t help the peals of laughter that came from him as he clapped his hand over Aatto’s mouth, gently. Aatto snorted behind the hand, and joined in laughing.    
  


Schaelarche’s shoulders shook and he flopped over onto Aatto, letting his hand fall from Aatto’s face. He snickered at Aatto’s eye roll and breathed. He did feel a little bit of relief. Aatto was good at listening, and his lap was comfortable now that Schae was slumped over on him. 

  
  


“You’re going to be fine, Schaelarche,” Aatto said after some time had passed. 

 

“Do you really think I can do this?” he asked again, the edge of worry creeping back into his voice.

 

“You made it up Hyjal didn’t you?” Aatto looked down at him and Schae was promptly hit in the face with his long purple braid. Schae blew it out of his face and snorted derisively but a smile was beginning to pull at his lips once more.

 

“I did…” 

 

“When we get back to my father I will give glowing report of your performance, and you’ll be free to pursue further training.” 

 

“Will you leave out the three times I fell?” 

 

“No.” 

 

“Can I say fuck you?” 

 

“No because I’ll put that in the report too.” 

 

That made Schae chuckle, and he closed his eyes. “Fair enough  _ Shan’do Moonshadow. _ ” 

 

Aatto stuck out his tongue in disgust. “Bleugh, Elune no. Please, Shan’do Moonshadow is my father.”

 

“C’mon mate you’re a teacher too.” 

 

“It’s different, Larchey.” 

 

“You’re worthy of that respect.” 

 

“The sentiment is appreciated but it’s really different.” 

 

Schae took the hint and hummed to himself. “You  _ could _ be that someday, though, you’re a good teacher.” 

 

He felt a wooden hand softly pat his head. 

 

“Thank you, Schaelarche.” 

 

“You’re always welcome, Aatto.” 

 

Aatto poked his nose, and Schaelarche smiled again as Aatto began to comb his fingers through his hair idly.

 

“I don’t think that’s the right path for me, not right now. I’d rather just continue my research and help out dad when need be,” Aatto went on. “ _I_ don’t exactly think I’ve got the skills to actually be in charge of the class.” 

 

“Mm,” Schae mused, “Have you come any farther in your research?” 

 

“I found a collection of similar experiments and papers from a Professor Elyanil Starwhisper. I sent her a few letters inquiring about her planting method for unnatural growth structures but haven’t heard anything back yet.” 

 

“When’d you send the letter?” 

 

“A week ago, I’ll check again once we get home.” 

 

“What method was she using then?” 

 

Aatto seemed the light up the more Schae asked. Schae could feel the content smile on his face growing; it felt good to see his friend happy. 

 

“Well, actually, it was sort of marvelous. She called it—er,” Aatto thought, “I don’t think there’s a phrase for it in Common. Dur’bantalla nore-dor.” 

 

“...restoring….something?” 

 

“Yeah, it revolves around recreating the ‘code’ that guides how a plant grows. Essentially creating whole new species, man-made ones born of Druidism.” 

 

“Light. How does she do it?” 

 

“Well, the papers were just about the theory of it. A lot of druids already use the principles in their magic, it’s just a matter of figuring out the science of it. The method in the magic, so to speak.” 

 

Aatto grinned down at Schae, ears perking up as he seemed to wait for a response to his wordplay. Schae chuckled and pat his cheek. 

 

“You’re going to figure it out, right?” 

 

“I hope so, or at least make  _ some  _ further progress. Half the battle is finding whatever texts and records may have been lost throughout history. Elune knows how many there may be…” 

 

“I wonder where they could be stored.” 

 

“For all I know they’re hidden for a reason. Safe keeping.” 

 

Schae exhaled softly and nodded, “Smart idea.” 

 

Schae searched around with his hand and grabbed Aatto’s wooden one. He could feel the slightest thrum of his magic running through the wood and animating it as he ran the pads of his fingers over the grain. He tapped his nail against parts where the wood had been frayed—likely his wing had brushed the stone as Aatto had followed him up the mountain in his avian form. Damn the whole test really, he’d had to climb the entirety of Hyjal without using anything but the basest of gear and his normal forms. No magic: no shifting. His own hands were scraped, bruised and callused, and Schae longed to stick them in a vat of some warm lotion.

 

Aatto patiently let Schae look over his hands, and after a minute coaxed a bit of magic through the tip of one finger. A small, violet flower bloomed from it, so Schae plucked it and tucked the shirt stem into the collar of Aatto’s tunic. It was all he could reach at the moment. 

 

Aatto looked at his rough fingers as Schae tucked the flower into his collar. 

 

“Do you want me to take care of that?” he asked in a soft murmur. 

 

Schae shook his head, “No, thank you, I’ll mix up a salve when we get back.” 

 

He withdrew his hand and poked Aatto’s, “Would you like me to help with yours?” 

 

Aatto considered him for a second before he shook his head. “You’re tired enough as is, we can have a nice long healing session back at the clinic. Does that sound alright?” 

 

Schaelarche nodded, looking for a moment like he was about to say more before nuzzling into Aatto’s abdomen much like a cat would. He also made a very feline noise of contentment. Aatto snickered at him and pat his face obnoxiously. 

 

“You’re more cat than wolf, and you’re not even savagekin,” he remarked.

 

Schae, seemingly out of spite, shifted into his rather large and heavy cat form. He stretched allllll over Aatto and murrow’d loudly.

 

“Yes good for you, Schaelarche.” 

 

“Mmmmmrrrroow.”

 

“Don’t pretend that you can’t talk.”

 

A large pink-beaned paw batted at Aatto’s face. Schae had a shit-eating look on his face that was clear enough despite his feline features.

 

“I’ll mark you off for shifting~”

 

Cat paws turned to worgen paws in an instant and Schae’s indignant stare met Aatto’s pleasant one. 

 

“You wouldn’t.”

 

“Hmmmmmm—“

 

“Aatto!” Schae leapt up and tackled Aatto, leaning over him after disarming Aatto’s weak protests with ease. Even when he tried Aatto had yet to beat Schae in a tussle. Schae pouted and sat back on his hindpaws, resting his weight on Aatto’s thighs. 

 

“Don’t embarrass me in front of your dad, please.”

 

“Larchey you know I won’t. I’m only teasing. I wouldn’t  _ actually _ hold that over your head.”

 

“I knooooooowwww, you know how I feel around him though.”

 

“..he’s not  _ that _ xenophobic. He’s gotten better, right?”

 

“To my face, yeah. I think he sees us as token druidic...pets, still though,” Schae winced. “At least, it feels that way.” 

 

Aatto sighed, “I can talk to him again if you want.”

 

“No—no, oh dear no. That’d be embarrassing. He’s been very kind overall, and I’ve dealt with worse from humans. Thank you though.”

 

“He’s not very good with change. He doesn’t like it. Never has.”

 

Schae’s ears twitched back and forth, and he nodded. 

 

“He took your involvement with my transitioning well enough, at least.”

 

“He may not like change, but he...deals with it. He is a Druid after all. I think he still wants a lot from me, and sees anything right now as a means to an end.”

 

“..What does he want from you?”

 

“A wife, lots of children. Probably some sort of physical extension of his clinic. Something that will continue our family name.”

 

Schae frowned at that. That was a lot of pressure, and for a split second Schae was glad he didn’t have parents anymore. He pet the side of Aatto’s stomach comfortingly.

 

“What is your surname in Darnassian, again?”

 

“Elun-Mor’dunah.” 

 

“Elun-Mor’dunah..that’s far nicer than the Common translation.”

 

“Moonshadow is far easier to say, though, plus I think it has a nice ring to it. It’s fresh, not bogged down with the baggage of family.”

 

Schae stared at Aatto for a few moments, and then nodded in understanding. 

 

“Names are useful in facilitating a reinvention of yourself,” he cracked a small smile as he talked, and Aatto chuckled. 

 

“That they are, my friend. That they are.” 

 

The wind caught up again and brushed along Schaelarche’s mane. He shivered, and noticed the sun had all but gone down. His smile grew as he watched the red sun disappear into a bright magenta strip below the far peaks and valleys. He could feel Aatto shifting underneath him to look as well, so Schae moved off of his legs and to Aatto’s side.

 

It was quiet. It was quiet in an almost melancholy way. This was it, there was nothing more between them and the stars but air and wind. It was so….final. But it was soft, and it was comforting; the familiar creaking of the World Tree, the distant chatter of elves, the rushes and lulls of breezes across the monumental mountaintop. He shifted back down into his human form, and sat cross legged.

 

When the last of the sun’s light had left the sky and the Pale Lady began to spread her white glow through the heavens, Schae looked over at Aatto. The little dashes and shining freckles of starlight that glowed at night had appeared, and Aatto looked his most ethereal. 

 

Schae hadn’t bothered to notice if many other elves had the markings. He had seen other druids who glowed, some with crystalline power, others with astral. But it was only on Aatto and his father that he’d seen the little nocturnal star freckles. They used to make him swoon, but now they were just a casual, natural reminder of his friend’s beauty. 

 

He leaned on Aatto’s shoulder, who smiled, and passed the fuck out. He’d lasted a long time, in all fairness. 

 

—

 

Sometime in the early morning, Schae woke to bleary eyes and a warm nest of covers. He squinted and looked around, finding a pile of extra blankets on the foot of his bed and Aatto’s dark, sleeping form on the bed adjacent to his. A smile pulled at his mouth, and he laid his head back down on his pillow.

 

Schae went back to sleep.


End file.
